Roshan Shah, 8, finishes just ahead of his father, Mitul while mother Bijul Dalal (race number 336) cheers them on along the sideline at the Mission Valley Sunset Rotary Mother's Day 5K on Sunday May 12, 2013.
— Amy McDonald / Amy McDonald/UT San Diego

Roger and Karla Wilderotte cross the finish line with their sons Dean, 4, and Max, 20 months, on Sunday May 12, 2013. All proceeds raised are to benefit the San Diego Rescue Mission.
— Amy McDonald / Amy McDonald/UT San Diego

San Diego  Mother’s Day did not begin with a leisurely breakfast in bed for these women, although some were coaxed from the covers with hand-delivered coffee.

Instead, upward of 140 moms and their loved ones gathered early Sunday morning in the cool fog blanketing Mission Bay for a charity 5K race. The inaugural Mission Valley Sunset Rotary event benefits homeless mothers who are housed and fed by the San Diego Rescue Mission.

Janet Dingsdale’s daughter Maddy and a group of friends talked her into it.

Maddy, 17, said her mother is an inspiration for her fortitude while fighting breast cancer. “She never let us get down about it, which is important as a family.”

“You just do what you have to, to get through,” said Janet, 49, of San Diego, who has been cancer-free for four years. “Doing regular everyday things is important, to keep it going. Knowing it’s not the end of the world.”

Roger and Karla Wilderotte cross the finish line with their sons Dean, 4, and Max, 20 months, on Sunday May 12, 2013. All proceeds raised are to benefit the San Diego Resue Mission.
Amy McDonald

Roger and Karla Wilderotte cross the finish line with their sons Dean, 4, and Max, 20 months, on Sunday May 12, 2013. All proceeds raised are to benefit the San Diego Resue Mission.

The Dingsdales ran with the Peterson family, who hit a different race the day before. “I woke up this morning thinking why did I do that? Why did I double up?” groaned Cindy Peterson, 50, of San Diego. She started running 5K races in January and brought her children Zach, 17, and Caitlin, 24, to push her pace.

The upside of aching muscles? The DeAnza Cove gathering helped build sweat equity for a guiltless post-race brunch. “We are going to go eat whatever we want the rest of the day!” Cindy said.

Caitlin loved the idea of falling in stride together. “She sacrifices a lot for us,” Caitlin said, slinging an arm around her mother as both welled up with tears.

Perla Bagalini, 42, of San Diego, and her daughter Jacqueline, 11, tried their first 5K. “I thought it was an exciting way to contribute” to the Rescue Mission, she said. “We are going to help the homeless moms and kids.”

Herb Johnson, president of the mission, said the group houses roughly 400 people daily, including about 80 women and children who check into their emergency shelter each night.

The Christian organization was founded in 1955 as a soup kitchen. In 1960 it opened the first shelter in San Diego County for women and children.

Twenty-four minutes after the race began, Andrea Jones, 32, pushed her two boys across the finish to win the stroller competition. Mattie, 3, and Teddy, 14 months, reclined in the stroller while their mom sprawled flat on her back in the grass.

While her husband, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Seon Jones, is deployed to Afghanistan as a trauma surgeon, Andrea and the boys spend a lot of time at Mission Bay Park. “These are my training buddies,” she said.

Jessica Porter, 34, and her son Ethan, 3, skipped the cartoons Sunday morning.

Adam Porter, president-elect of the Rotary Club, said his wife “is amazing with our son,” and works full time in hotel management. “She’s the beauty, the brains, the whole package,” Porter said.

Porter started the race with a group cheer of “Happy Mother’s Day!” It was obvious but bared repeating, to chuckles from the crowd: “Without you mothers, none of us would be here today. Literally. So thank you!”